38-21: No no-no, but winning is nice

Curt Schilling (6-2) reached down and provided just what the Red Sox needed yesterday, as they won, 1-0. After losing four in a row by a combined margin of just 5 runs, the struggling Sox bats needed someone to pick them up. Schilling came in and pitched phenomenally, but his no-hit bid was spoiled on the very last out of the game by Oakland’s Shannon Stewart. Even when things are going right, it’s just not rolling Boston’s way these days.

The way Schilling was cruising yesterday, you knew he was having a special game. He was as efficient as he’s ever been here, and his stuff was sharp enough to make people miss. The only thing keeping this from being a perfect game was a bobbled ball by Julio Lugo in the bottom of the 5th (which could have ended the game before Stewart came up in the 9th). He didn’t walk anyone, and pitched a complete game using just 100 pitches. Even against an unintimidating lineup, that’s impressive.

The weak Sox lineup may have actually worked in Schilling’s favor yesterday, as the short innings allowed him to stay warm and in his groove. That becomes a little more important over age 40, I hear. The margin of victory was provided by a 1st inning blast by David Ortiz off A’s pitcher Joe Blanton (5-4).

The last Red Sox no-hitter was by Derek Lowe against Tampa Bay in 2002.